I am a GoldenSkate newbie (and new to the world of figure skating in general), so I apologize in advance if this is posted in the wrong forum. I have a couple of quick questions, and would love to get input from those of you with knowledge / experience!

Icenetwork Season Pass: Can anyone tell me which season pass I need to see footage / clips of the 2014 US Nationals? I think you need to buy the premium pass to stream the event live, but do I also need it to watch clips now? Their website is unclear, and since anything I buy now is only good through August, I would really rather not pay the premium price unless I have to. Also, I looked at some threads from last fall and noticed that a lot of people were unhappy with the new interface, lack of archived materials, and customer service. Have things improved?

US Figure Skating Membership: I am not and never will be a competitive figure skater! I just started taking an adult basic skills classes (I'm falling A LOT but love it!) and was wondering if becoming a USFSA club member was worth it. I know that last year members got a discount on the Icenetwork season pass and that you get Skating magazine. The place I bought my skates from said membership is mostly useful for competitive skaters. What do you think?

Welcome! I can't really answer most of your questions, but I do know that a subscription to Ice Network is necessary to watch past competitions. Most of what is freely available to anyone in their video section are stuff like interviews and press conferences.

(I think IceNetwork really needs to rethink the way they do subscriptions. They need to offer a 12 month service instead of just the "through August" model, but maybe the way they get rights precludes that or something, I don't know.)

I know that I need a subscription to watch past competitions; just wasn't sure if I could get away with the figure skating pass ($49.99) or needed to buy the premium pass ($89.99). However, I think I may have the answer at least to this question: the other day when I was on their website I could SWEAR the 2014 Nationals were only listed under the premium pass. They are still listed there, and it says that they are a premium event. However, now they are ALSO listed under the cheaper figure skating pass. So I guess I will just buy the figure skating pass and see what happens.

Still wondering about people's current experiences with Icenetwork and about USFSA membership tho!

Not sure about the upgrade, but I bought the basic season pass last night and was able to watch stuff from 2014 nationals (e.g. Mens short & free). However, the video quality isn't great - very choppy and slow in places. Also, when I tried to watch what was labeled as a 3-hour clip of ladies short program, it turned out to have 3 minutes - just the first skater.

I was also disturbed to read a message on the ice network forum from Saturday, from someone who wanted to cancel her subscription, who said that no one answered the phone during hours of operation & that they did not respond to her tweet. My experience was similar. When I called to ask the questions I asked here, I was able to speak with someone, but he was clearly located outside the US and didn't have a clue about the subscriptions. He laboriously wrote down my question & gave me a ticket, then transferred me to someone who never picked up. After a half hour of waiting I hung up, tried calling several times later & no one ever picked up. There is clearly something wrong there! Pretty appalling considering it is a JV between USFSA & MLB, & considering that USFSA's stated goal is to bring people back to the sport.

The stream quality is usually good for me, except occasionally for very popular live events.
Before you start, make sure you have recent versions of Flashplayer, and clear your cache and cookies. Otherwise, be sure to have good speed from your ISP.

Watch on your PC, not your phone or tablet. Android is not supported by Adobe, but Iphone and Ipad users have had some problems too.

The stream quality is usually good for me, except occasionally for very popular live events.
Before you start, make sure you have recent versions of Flashplayer, and clear your cache and cookies. Otherwise, be sure to have good speed from your ISP.

Watch on your PC, not your phone or tablet. Android is not supported by Adobe, but Iphone and Ipad users have had some problems too.

I would not try communicating with them by twitter either-use email.

Thanks, Doris! I will try upgrading flash, clearing cookies, etc. I have Comcast's blast service & don't have a problem with other video streams- eg watched olympics online & on iphone via the nbcsn app so I don't think it's an ISP problem.

So - can I totally not watch clips on ipad (was thinking of buying one)? I've watched some of the free ice network clips on my iphone & they seemed to play relatively decently.

You are supposed to be able to use iPhone/iPad, but I have heard complaints from some users. As to IPad, borrow a friend's. Login to your account and see whether you can play US ladies L.p.. If that will play, anything will.

Do not use interviews and other vids available to everyone as a test. At least some of them are not flash player and therefore will play everywhere.

You are supposed to be able to use iPhone/iPad, but I have heard complaints from some users. As to IPad, borrow a friend's. Login to your account and see whether you can play US ladies L.p.. If that will play, anything will.

Do not use interviews and other vids available to everyone as a test. At least some of them are not flash player and therefore will play everywhere.

Thx - great suggestions! Do you - or does anyone else here - have any ideas about USFSA membership (in very first post in thread) or about buying tix for next year's nationals (separate post, slowly getting buried....)?